🧰 Toolkit - How to verify a claim yourself

🖼️ Verifying a viral image
  1. Right-click the image → Search image (Chrome/Edge) or upload to Google Lens or TinEye.
  2. Sort results by oldest date.
  3. Check whether the context matches the original event, country, or time period.
  4. Install the InVID/WeVerify browser plugin.
  5. Run the image through FotoForensics.
  6. Check metadata with ExifTool.
  7. Use SunCalc to verify shadows and sun position.
📌 Verify images before believing captions. The image may be real — the story around it may not be.
💬 Checking a political quote
  1. Search the exact phrase in quotation marks.
  2. Find the primary source.
  3. Check PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, and Snopes.
  4. Read the full surrounding context.
  5. Inspect screenshots for editing artifacts.
  6. Use Wayback Machine for deleted statements.
  7. Check Fact-Check Insights.
💰 Tracing funding & ownership
  1. Check OpenSecrets and Ground News.
  2. Search organization name plus "990".
  3. Review ICANN WHOIS registration data.
  4. Check Wayback Machine history.
  5. Review InfluenceWatch profiles.
  6. Ask who benefits financially or politically.
📄 Locating original documents
  1. Find the primary source document.
  2. Use GovInfo, Congress.gov, and PACER.
  3. Search Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar.
  4. Use MuckRock and DocumentCloud.
  5. Be skeptical when sources are not linked.
  6. Use Wayback Machine for removed documents.
🎭 Detecting manipulated context
  1. Ask whether the content is real but the context is false.
  2. Check publication dates.
  3. Watch for emotional amplification.
  4. Cross-reference multiple outlets.
  5. Use Hoaxy to trace amplification.
  6. Review EUvsDisinfo and Lead Stories.
  7. Study AFP Fact Check methodology.
🗃️ Archiving evidence
  1. Archive before sharing or citing.
  2. Take timestamped screenshots.
  3. Save the full URL.
  4. Capture social media profile information.
  5. Compare page versions over time.
  6. Document your verification chain.
📌 Archive before sharing. If you did not save it, it may disappear before anyone else can verify it.
🔍 Core fact-checking networks

These organizations publicly disclose their methodology and source chains — which is what separates fact-checking from opinion.

Snopes Broad rumor and internet claim database AFP Fact Check Methodology Excellent explanation of professional verification processes FactCheck.org Political and public policy verification PolitiFact Political claims with full sourcing and ratings Lead Stories Tracks viral misinformation in real time Full Fact UK-focused, highly transparent methodology Fact-Check Insights Global database of structured fact checks
📷 Reverse image & video verification

Verify images before believing captions. The photograph may be real — the story attached to it may not be.

Google Lens Fast reverse image search directly from any image TinEye Finds earliest known appearance of an image online InVID / WeVerify Used by AFP and professional journalists; breaks video into searchable keyframes ExifTool Extracts metadata from images including GPS, camera, and date FotoForensics Detects image manipulation at the pixel level SunCalc Verify claimed location and time by matching shadow angles to sun position
🗄️ Archival & "what changed?" tools

Archive before sharing. If you did not save it, it may be gone before anyone else can verify it.

Internet Archive Wayback Machine The essential tool for retrieving deleted or altered web pages Archive.today Fast snapshots of web pages with stable URLs for citing Perma.cc AFP-recommended for preserving evidence trails in investigations Diffchecker Compare two versions of a document or webpage to find what changed Versionista Ongoing monitoring of webpage changes over time